Sanity in exile!

Bollinger Is Right!

lets face it, Bollinger and Columbia treated Ahmadinejad a hell of a lot better than Ahmadinegjad and his thugs did American hostages 27 years ago.

Bollinger rightfully expressed his views, and given the atrocious treatment of dissidents, journalists, scholars, students, teachers, women, homosexuals, artists and writers in Iran, as a university president HE HAD TO SAY WHAT HE DID! Ahmadinejad IS A petty dictator! Bollinger runs a university not a restaurant, and he had to speak on behalf of what he stands for, for the tens of thousands of jailed Iranians and academics who can't!

And all this garbage about NY being a Jewish town, is just more prejudiced crap from the usual brainwashed propogandists. All the jewishness of NY or for that matter Israel, doesn't excuse the horrible treatment of Iranians by the brutal dictatorship of Ahmadinejad, the Mullahs and their Islamist mercenaries! so get over it ...

Ahmadinejad represents one

Ahmadinejad represents one of the biggest islamofascist lobbies in the world with unlimited funds stretched across the globe. Thank goodness for the zionist lobby to counter this threat or we would all be either stoned, hanged, or tortured to death or given the status of dihimititude.

He should thank allah for setting foot on this coutry, given his regime's past 28 years of "Death to America", proxy war against America, and his intention of living in a "world without America". He finally got what he deserved after 28 years of American's inaction and cowardice against these lunatics.

Bollinger is Double-standard racist at best

Bollinger not only saved his job, but got a promotion because of it. Tonight, I am sure he is getting emails and phone calls from all sort of Jewish Lobby groups for a job well done and promise of rewards, promotions and more.




While he would never dare to ask any wrong doing questions from Israelis, because their are Jewish. Attaching Iranians and none whites is fair game.

The hypocrisy in all these is how no one talks about how a most wanted Terrorist (by British government), a bigot and racist such as Menachem Begin is the most loved PM by Israelis and yet the same group are accusing Ahmadenejad of being a terrorist.

Here is the result of recent poll.

Q: Who Was the Best Prime Minister in Israel’s History?

Menachem Begin: 26.8 percent

David Ben-Gurion: 25.6 percent

Yitzhak Rabin: 17.4 percent

Ariel Sharon: 9.1 percent

Yitzhak Shamir: 5.4% percent

Levi Eshkol: 5.4 percent

Binyamin Netanyahu: 4.4 percent

Golda Meir: 3.0 percent

Shimon Peres: 2.5 percent

Moshe Sharett: 0.9 percent

Ehud Barak: 0.2 percent

Ehud Olmert: 0.0 percent

Ahmadinejad's empty rhetoric

Ahmadinejad's empty rhetoric on Israel is actually helping the zionists and damaging the palestinian cause. He is all like vulture, feeding on the palestinian corpse to promote the IR's own interests. Arabs are sick and tired of his bombastic and hollow threats, designed to whip up his hardline constituents into a frenzy and recruit more suicide bombers. Shame on him.

Let's Be Honest With Ourselves

While I found Bollinger very direct and inhospitable, I find myself re-reading the transcript and thinking that his arguments are right. While Ahmadinejad sprinkles lofty ideals that are compelling to us all, the actions of the Iranian government betray the spirit of what is communicated.

Let's be real about this. I got Ahmadinejad's points on the power of knowledge, freedom of the mind, and learning. However, this is inconsistent with the outright human rights abuses and lack of freedom in our motherland. It makes Ahmadinejad's word completely meaningless. I don't think he has guts to stand in front of the Columbia students. Ahmadinejad would show courage if he was honest about all the violations he executes. Instead of invoking God, let him be honest about his betrayal to the spirit of Islam.

If we want to do something positive, let's hold Ahmadinejad accountable to his violations against bloggers, academics, sufis, bahais, women, minorities... the dignity of all of us.

Let us show courage in our character and the verbal defense of all that is beautiful about Iran. If not, I fear that everything wonderful will be suffocated by the Iranian government and in the end all that will be left will be shallow and empty spirits only remembering a bygone glory.

SHARKS!!

I remember one time watching an episode on Discovery channel, talking about how sharp,quick,inteligent and brave "sharks" are!! And I was thinking to myself : in their own teritory? sure,of course they are, bring them to Walmart parking lot! and then we talk!

I would LOVE to see how brave Mr. Bullinger is in Tehran University!

Sag dar-e khoone-ye sahebesh SHIR mishe! 

what do you expect of zionist controlled academics in NY?

Let me refer you to to books "the Israel Lobby and the US fofeing Policy" by Measheimer; the power of Israe in the United State" by Petras; " they dare to speak out" by fromer Senator Findley among others to see why a professor and president of a university behaves like this. We call ourselves civilized here and invite people for debate and then let them have it before letting the person make his point. Wow, sounds like a cheap late night show.

Regardless of the issues, the zionists will not have anyone question their authority and control of this country and they go to any length to crush any sign of challenge to their controll of the american people mind and tax dollar for the sake of Israel.

So, I am not surprized of such behavior from a head of a university. the rest of the world is not as stupid as we think they are they know what is going on and they are begining to see thru the propaganda of the west orchastrated by the zionst all over the world to demonize anyone challenging the state of Israel. Thus, as long as we have Fox news, we don't need no enemy to take this country into another war, to prove that there are gays in Iran! as the latin proverb says" necencia necat"- Ignorance kill. thus, lets stay ingnorant and let crimes happen for some interest group such ad the zionists with inocent american blood and tax dollars.

JEW-YORK!

Did he forget where he is? and who he's talking to?

shame on Bollinger

Bollinger's name calling was rude and way out of place. He invited a guest, and should have remembered the rules of introduction and etiquette of conversation/dialogue.

Ironically this very incident may affect free speach, in the sense that the next speaker that comes along somewhere else, might remember this event, and think carefully about giving a speach, if his/her views are different.

IMO today at Columbia His

IMO today at Columbia His Luminescence (remember his halo last year), Ahmadinejad, came accross as not only a bad actor dictator (like Pres. Bollinger said) but also as personally unstable and incoherent, rambling of a mad man. I don't think he even knew what he was talking about...

Of course, he resonates with like-minded people and political hacks who are beneficiaries of this regime.

Mahmud jaan, khodet moqasseri.

It's his own fault. What was he thinking? That he could walk into NYC, the center of Zionism ideology, and convince them that "more questions need to be asked about the Holocaust"?! Helloooooo!!! This is New York City!! Half the population walking the sidewalks of 5th Ave are Jewish and support Israel! Did you even come to think that at least 25% of Columbia University's population are Jewish?! (and Im being conservative). And besides, if I were being insulted like that, I would walk out right there. I would hold my dignity. Ahmadinejad is a tyrant? fine. But meehman-navazi rasm-e ensaaniyat ast. And Columbia University's staff has now shown it's true colors. "Freedom of Speech", my ass. This was a jingoist spectacle to humiliate Iran. But hey, youre not in some shahrestan in Iran. And youre audience is not sitting in some sahn in Qom.

Bravo to Bollinger

I attended today's event and listened with an initial skepticism to Bollinger's opening remarks. I was expecting him to open his comments in the order we have become accustomed to hearing about US criticisms of Iran: Holocaust denial, threatening Israel, nukes, supporting terror, and at the end of the list, Iran's deplorable treatment of its own citizens. I was pleasantly surprised that Bollinger made the treatment of Iranian scholars, journalists, activists, women, and homosexuals the opening salvo against Ahmadinejad. I think Bollinger, far from pandering to specific crowds, spoke not only for himself, but for many others who have wanted to confront not just Ahmadinejad (who is inconsequential in the big picture), but a regime, a political system in Iran which is a police state which imprisons, tortures, and executes its own citizens and does not tolerate any dissent.

That is admirable, and takes a lot of guts. Bollinger was a friend to freedom of speech and to academic freedoms of inquiry today; he posed questions that I think many people wanted to see posed to the IRI leadership. Was it perfect? Far from it-but to criticize him for trying to take Ahmadinejad to task on the IRI's dismal record of executions, stifling dissent, and coercion of its own citizens is stupid. What he said to the Iranian president today would have resulted in the death or imprisonment and torture of any Iranian who would have expressed similar sentiments.

you are talking nonsense

Could you tell me what Mr. Bollinger said that is not true. All the charges do stick to Ahmadinejad and belive me he will be hold accountable for his crimes against Iranian. If Ahmadenjad wants to be respected, then he can act like Nelson Mandela, Ghandi or Vaclav Havel. No sir, Mr. Bollinger is not a coward but Ahmadenjad is.

Guest or Trial or Prosecuter

Hello
Despite the fact I despise Ahmadinajad and his bunch of Obash,who are destroying my country, I am not a big fan of embarassing or making fun of someone in public. It doesn't matter who the guest is, it could have been fidel Castro or Hugo Chavez or even Saddam Hussain, this was not supposed to be a trial. The President of Columbia behaved himself like a 'prosecuter'. At least he could have waited until his guest had answered all the questions. Manners, are important.

Long Live Ahmadinejad

I watched the entire speech. I think Ahmadinejad did wonderful. He argued for his point of view graciously without resorting to foul language or name calling . Now compare Ahmadinejad’s responses to the introduction by the Columbia University’s President who sounded like a deceitful charlatan. Ahmadinejad clearly showed the difference between the barbaric and deceitful culture of the west and gentle and kind culture of Iran. Ahmadinejad come out of that meeting smelling like a rose.

Shameful!

I wonder if Mr. Bollinger would have attacked any other dictator friendly to the U.S. (or Israel) so viciously. Even George Bush would have used more gracious words to confront his opponent! Do the rulers in Saudi Arabia, Egypt, or any other U.S. puppets treat women, homosexuals, and dissidents better than the Iranian government? Is Mr. Bollinger (or any U.S. politician) really so concerned about women and gays in Iran? It is obvious that he has been under pressure from certain influential groups in NY to sell his prestige so cheaply only for one reason .

Shame on you Mr. Bollinger for bringing your reputation and that of our school to this level of disgrace!

The man has blood on his

The man has blood on his hand and he was an executioner and a torturer in prison. So, he is ruthless animal. He is used to nastiness.

The man was rambling foolishness and nonsense. What an embarrassment.

On gays:

Perhaps it would have been more accurate to say that his government is trying to ensure that there are no homosexuals in Iran.

Ahmadinejad gave mealy-mouthed answers to questions about his attitude toward Israel and the Holocaust.

As I rather hoped he would, Columbia president Lee Bollinger, in his introduction, took the opportunity to verbally slam the Iranian leader:

"Mr. President, you exhibit all the signs of a petty and cruel dictator," Bollinger said to applause from many of the 600 people in the room for a speech from the Iranian leader.

He cited the Iranian government's "brutal crackdown" on dissidents, public executions, executions of minors and other actions.

And Bollinger assailed Ahmadinejad's "denying" of the Holocaust as "ridiculous" and "dangerous propaganda." He called the Iranian leader either brazenly provocative "or astonishingly uneducated."

"The truth is that the Holocaust is the most documented event in human history," he said.

He said he doubted Ahmadinejad would show the intellectual courage to answer the questions before him.

I am no fan of Ahamdi at

I am no fan of Ahamdi at all, but I think Columbia University President made an ass out of himself by targetting his guest. It might be that the best people to stand up to the ilk of Ahmadi, are Iranians themselves.

as angryarab.blogspot.com

as angryarab.blogspot.com pointed out:
"But let me first say something about the university president Lee Bollinger. The same Zionist hoodlums who just yesterday were attacking Bollinger, will be praising him tomorrow morning. They will express their pride in one of the most demagogic college presidents in the US. As one commentator on MSNBC (and FOX News) said: he succeeding in making Ahmadinajad look good on US TV. He allowed Ahmadinajad to score points, among the international audience in particular. Bollinger always came across, not as president of a university, but like a typical sleazy politician who is willing to say anything, to pander to any crowd, provided it kept him in his job, or propelled him to a better job. He came across as small and presumptuous: especially when he claimed to speak on behalf of the civilized world. Bollinger has proven at Columbia to be the enemy of free speech: and when a professor at his university (Joseph Massad), was coming under attack from Zionist hoodlums around the country, he in fact spoke in favor of restricting freedom of speech, and said that freedom of speech applies in public institutions."

You know what, I don't like

You know what, I don't like Ahmadinejad but he has the guts to come in front of a hostile crowd and take questions like a man. Let's see all these Americans who bash Ahmadinejad just be a little hard on Bush. Ahmadinejad no matter how bad deserves credit for being man enough to show up at Columbia. Bush would never have the courage to go to Tehran university and answer questions without vetting the questions first.

Don't give Ahamdinejad

Don't give Ahamdinejad credit by comparing him to Bush. And, I am a Bush hater :)

Office of Presidency?? I

Office of Presidency?? I hate to break it to you, the Islamic republic is viewed around the world as a terrorist entity.

Ahmadinejad is the Islamic George Bush. He was elected by ignorant rural peasants who put religion above freedom. He is despised by the educated and intelligent sectors of society, so he demonizes those sectors. He has low support at home because his economic policies flopped, so he curries support by inventing foreign enemies and blaming them for his country's problems. He is bigoted and insular. Both cannot face facts: Ahmadinejad denies the Holocaust; Bush denies global warming. Both "honor" women by telling them to let men run their lives, using religion as an excuse. Both are at least 50% insane.

"Coward" Is Too Kind A Word.

 M.,

Amen.  I would just add that "coward" is too kind a word. 

HB 

Free Speech

Well, BM, Bollinger made sure Ahm made it to Columbia, so that he could personally hit him hard, because he wanted to excersize "free speech".

Ali Mostofi

//www.alimostofi.com